The Bartender Told You I Was Up Here, Didn't He?
by seasidewriter1
Summary: This takes place after the episode Love Machine. There are one or two spoilers in the story. Nathan, Audrey, and Duke all have a friendly night at the Gull


_Disclaimer: I do not own Haven or the characters_

_**Foreword:**__ This takes place just after the episode __**Love Machine**_

Audrey was in her newly rented apartment above the Grey Gull, staring at the piano she sat at. Her fingers ghosted over the keys as she desperately tried to remember if she had _ever_ played the piano anytime in her life. From what she was thinking, no, she hadn't. She sighed as she stood. She closed her eyes, feeling the previous days events flood into her brain. She heard the faint clinking of the wind chimes out on the deck. She opened her eyes and walked out onto the deck. The expanse of water that stretched out in front of her was calm and the occasional boat would sail by. The wind gently played with her hair and toyed with the tree branches. She smiled a bit at the essence of calm the scene gave off. If only the rest of her life could be like that.

OOO

Nathan got out of his Bronco and stood, hand on the door, staring at the Gull. He never did like the place since Duke came in charge of it. Hell, the only reason he hated the place _was_ Duke. He was almost always there. He dreaded every time Audrey would say 'we need to go to the Gull'. He even remembered one time Audrey saying something like; 'We're going to lunch… but you're not gonna like it.' And then they ended up at the Gull to ask Duke questions.

But this time around, he _hated_ to admit it, but he needed Duke's help. He couldn't find Audrey anywhere- not at her old room at the B&B- he thought that she might be there to get what little stuff she had there- but she wasn't there. She wasn't at the station or at the local pastry shop she liked to go to. He figured if there was one guy besides himself who might know where she was, it was Duke.

He slammed the door of the truck shut and slowly made his way to the door. The Gull appeared to be empty. Duke had probably closed it for the day, due to the slightly traumatizing events of the past few days. He turned the handle on the door and found it unlocked, so he walked right in, shutting the door behind him. He spotted Duke at the bar, cleaning glasses. Duke glanced up and spotted Nathan. He smirked a bit.

" Well, well, well. If it isn't one of Haven's finest. What can I do for you today?" Duke asked setting down the glass he had in his hand.

" I was wondering if you've seen Audrey. I can't find her anywhere." Nathan said in a monotone, shoving his hands in his jeans pocket. Duke smirked, which was the exact reaction Nathan expected.

" You are asking me for help? Why, Nathan, I'm honored! No, really! I am!" Duke said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. Nathan's face stayed stoic.

" Just tell me if you know where she is." Was his reply. Duke rolled his eyes.

" She's upstairs in her new apartment." Duke said.

" Thanks." Nathan said before going to find the stairs.

Audrey was still watching the water when she heard a knock on the door and then heard it open. She turned and saw Nathan standing in the doorway. She smiled at him.

" Let me guess, the bartender told you I was up here, didn't he?" She said. Nathan smiled slightly and chuckled.

" Yeah, he did. I was surprised he told me. I thought he'd want to annoy the hell out of me till I begged for him to tell me." Nathan said stepping into the apartment.

" Duke's been fairly quiet. He probably hasn't had a good last few days either." Audrey said walking back inside. Nathan nodded as he took off his forest green coat. He looked around and draped his jacket over the back of a chair.

" This is a pretty nice place." He said as he walked over to the piano, then glanced out the window.

" Yeah. Duke fixed it up and lowered the rent a bit." Audrey said leaning against the wall.

" Probably wants to stay on your good-side." Nathan muttered quietly as he walked out onto the deck, where Audrey had set up a deck chair and table. She followed him and noticed a bit of bandage peaking out from the collar of his shirt. She smirked a bit.

" I see that you _finally_ got the nails out of your back." Audrey said with a grin. Nathan chuckled and shook his head.

" I obviously didn't feel it. It wasn't that bad." He said dismissively.

" Nathan, you had _nails_ _impaled_ into your back. Just because you didn't feel it, doesn't mean it wasn't bad. You should be _so_ lucky that I didn't find some way to touch the skin around the nails, because _then_ you would have felt it. And it wouldn't have been fun." She said bumping his shoulder with hers as she smiled a bit. Nathan smiled slightly and internally thought he wouldn't mind if she had done that. He didn't care if he felt immense pain, but he would be able to _feel_. He would be able to feel _her_.

Duke walked in and walked to stand between Nathan and Audrey. He smiled at both of them.

" Who wants to go down to the bar for a drink, hm? I think we all deserve one." Duke said. After a moment Nathan replies.

" Why not?" He said. Duke looked at him and raised an eyebrow before looking at Audrey.

" Sounds good!" Audrey said. " I could _really_ use it…" She muttered the last part as she made her way downstairs. Duke laughed and followed. Nathan slowly grabbed his coat and made his way down.

ooOoo

After a few hours Duke had willingly made dinner for the three of them and they all sat on the lower deck, watching the sun go down over the water.

" I wish the Troubles were gone…" Nathan muttered as the sun disappeared.

" So do I. But there was one good thing the Troubles did." Audrey said before taking a sip of her beer. Duke and Nathan gave her a look. She smiled. " I the Troubles hadn't started up, then I wouldn't be here." Duke smiled.

" Very, very, very true, Officer Agent Parker." Duke said clinking his bottle against hers. He knew very well he could easily drop the 'Agent' part of his nickname for her out, but it had stuck and he wasn't about to drop it. She smiled.

" I agree with Duke." Nathan said leaning over to tap his bottle with hers, smiling. She smiled and tapped their bottles together, purposely brushing her fingers against his. He looked at their hands and smiled a bit more. Duke raised an eyebrow but sipped at his beer.

They all watched the stars peak out from the blanket of darkness that had overcome the sky. They enjoyed laughing and telling stories together, and it almost seemed as if the Troubles didn't exist. They were all thankful they all could escape from the Troubles, even if it was just for a night, even if in the morning something horrible plagued the town and they were thrown into the fray.

After another good hour and a half, they decided to call it a night. Duke left, leaving a key for Audrey to lock the restaurant up with.

" Well, that was fun." Audrey said with a smile as she and Nathan walked towards the door.

" Definitely. We should try to do it more often. It's a nice escape." Nathan agreed. Audrey smiled even more and laughed as she shut off the lights and they walked out the door. She locked the door and put the key in her pocket. Nathan waited for her and she smiled at him.

" Thanks." She said.

" Anytime." He replied. He walked her to the outdoor staircase that lead to the deck outside her apartment. She smiled and him and gave him a hug, then a kiss on the cheek. Nathan felt his nerves light up as her lips made contact with his skin. He shut his eyes, hugging back and smiling. When Audrey pulled back she smiled as she saw the faint pink tone on his cheeks.

" Good night, Nathan." She said turning and walking upstairs. He smiled up at her.

" Good night, Audrey"

_Afterword:__ Thanks for reading! This came to mind as I watched the ending of the episode and I finally got around to writing it. I hope you liked it! I love and enjoy reviews!_


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